PDGF-B-driven gliomagenesis can occur in the absence of the proteoglycan NG2

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the last years, the transmembrane proteoglycan NG2 has gained interest as a therapeutic target for the treatment of diverse tumor types, including gliomas, because increases of its expression correlate with dismal prognosis. NG2 has been shown to function as a co-receptor for PDGF ligands whose aberrant expression is common in gliomas. We have recently generated a glioma model based on the overexpression of PDGF-B in neural progenitors and here we investigated the possible relevance of NG2 during PDGF-driven gliomagenesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The survival curves of NG2-KO mice overexpressing PDGF-B were compared to controls by using a Log-rank test. The characteristics of tumors induced in NG2-KO were compared to those of tumors induced in wild type mice by immunostaining for different cell lineage markers and by transplantation assays in adult mice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We showed that the lack of NG2 does not appreciably affect any of the characterized steps of PDGF-driven brain tumorigenesis, such as oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPC) induction, the recruitment of bystander OPCs and the progression to full malignancy, which take place as in wild type animals.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our analysis, using both NG2-KO mice and a miRNA based silencing approach, clearly demonstrates that NG2 is not required for PDGF-B to efficiently induce and maintain gliomas from neural progenitors. On the basis of the data obtained, we therefore suggest that the role of NG2 as a target molecule for glioma treatment should be carefully reconsidered.</p

Fluorescence and magneto-optics of Er3+ in Ca3Ga2Ge3O12 garnet

We report fluorescence, magneto-optics and light absorption studies of Er3+ in Ca3Ga2Ge3O12 both at room and liquid-helium temperatures. We found that several sites are occupied by the Er3+ ions, which substitute Ca2+, corresponding with different charge compensation in the Er3+ neighbourhood. Here we present the complete optical study of the most populated of these sites. We compare our results with previous ESR experiments in similar samples and other rare-earth optical experiments in the same host. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.106746346

Electron spin resonance study of Fe3+ in LiNbO3 single crystals: Bulk and fibres

We present the ESR spectra and angular variations of both the line positions and linewidths, for Fe3+ in LiNbO3 single crystals grown by the Czochralski method and by laser heated pedestal growth. The spectra prove the high quality of the fibres and show that ESR is a good method to characterize these optical materials. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.1031616

ESR EXPERIMENTS AND SPECTRA SIMULATIONS IN YBA2CU3O7-X, Y2BACUO5, AND BACUO2+X

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